Linsay Rosser-Sumpter

Linsay Rosser-Sumpter and her husband of four years, Wade, are expecting their first baby sometime around December 20th. Since Wade is sitting 11th in the bull dogging standings, it’s looking like he’s going to Vegas without her this year. “That’s going to be hard,” she said. “I did the opening (for the NFR) when I was 6 and I’ve been there ever since – 24 years.” That’s not the only thing that has been challenging. As the coach for Otero Junior College, she has continued a rigorous schedule of daily practices and a fall schedule which included traveling to five rodeos. “I stopped riding at about seven months, and stopped roping after the Reno Rodeo All Girl Roping.  I continued to keep horses legged up, but I haven’t slowed down – I wasn’t raised that way.” 
    Linsay entered her first rodeo when she was 10. “My grandfather (Cotton Rosser) has been in the rodeo business for close to 65 years, so I would go with Flying U Rodeo Company and help with all aspects of the business.  I’ve been carrying the American flag since I could hold it. I would take care of saddle horses, do victory laps, and I spent a few years performing trick riding (11-13). I have also timed, we grew up rodeoing, on the work side of things.”
    There weren’t a lot of choices for junior rodeos and since her family produced rodeos, it made it tough to haul to very many. “When my brother got into high school rodeo, they hauled him, and that opened the door for me to start.” Linsay claimed the California State High School Champion Goat Tier in 2000 and 2001, and All Around Champion Cowgirl her senior year – 2001. She went to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and went to the college finals two years (2003-2004). Linsay took a job as PR and marketing for the PBR, until she got married and then started at Otero in June of 2009. “I loved that job (PBR), it was a lot of work and hard, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.” The coaching position fits Linsay’s life better. “I was on the road a lot, and so was Wade, but now I’m home during the week, and it allows me to take care of our place. My contract here is an 11-month contract, so I don’t get to travel with Wade but I don’t crave the travel – I like to fly in to the good ones and fly home. I was raised in the rodeo business, so I don’t have the desire to go to all 70 rodeos that Wade is entered in. I put my vacation time around the rodeos that are easy to fly into and the All Girl ropings that I like to go to.”
    Linsay is one of a handful of female coaches in the nation. “When I started here, there were only two of us,” she said. “I’m lucky in the fact that I’m not little. I’m almost six foot tall and my mother tried really hard for me to be the debutante and I loved the rugged cowboy lifestyle. My grandfather always had a bunch of cowboys working for him and I worked right beside them, riding colts, branding, and doing whatever they were doing. Since I was never discriminated against, I have the ability to speak my mind, work like a man and stand my ground. Being in this business for so long, I sometimes feel like I know too much, but you have to show respect to get respect. I work alongside my team from flanking, roping, tying with them and working hard every day at practice.  Her assistant coach, JW McCuistion, handles most of the rough stock side of the program. She also gets PRCA cowboys like Casey Colletti, Trevor Knowles, Seth Brockman, and Jake Rinehart to come and help. “I never ask them to do something I won’t do. Obviously I can’t go to the gym now, but before that I was at the gym every lunch break with the team and we have an outstanding strength and conditioning trainer at Otero.”
    Wade and Linsay have around 15 horses at the house. “Wade has two really nice bull dogging horses, Dashs Dapper Star “Wick” the AQHA/PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year 2010-11 and Speedy Faila “Two Guns” AQHA/PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year 2013 and his haze horse Grumpy, who has really done a great job this year.  “We have a lot of colts and ranch horses, and I have a good head horse and a good breakaway horse that I compete on.” Wade and Kenneth Lewis bought Wick in 2006 but now Wade is partners Billy Bugenig his traveling partner and Two Guns came from NFR team roper Charly Crawford. He was a head horse when we got him, and Wade trained them so it makes  horse of the year title extra special. “We love to train horses, I haul them to jackpots to expose them to the elements – I’ll try to go as much as I can after the baby comes. It’s unchartered territory but I’m not hanging up my rope. The baby will be like every other rodeo baby and since we all survived it, he will too.  He’ll be my new accessory.”